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Derwent Catchment Group Annual Report

This year’s program of works has included a range of projects in our 3 core focus areas of Agri-best practice extension, weed management and Conservation/revegetation. The Agri-best practice works have been supported by NRM South, the Central Highlands and Derwent Valley Councils and Australian Government grants. The projects have included: Dairy Cares for the Derwent, Pasture Principals, Sheep and Beef Producer Nutrient Works, and a review of the North Facing Slopes program (1999-2003). The Dairy Cares project has overlapped with our revegetation focus area with 1000 trees planted at Clearview dairy. Other revegetation projects have included working with Green Army at: Tynwald and Fitzroy Parks in New Norfolk; and Bothwell on the Clyde River. In addition, we have been working to establish and expand our nursery at the Hamilton Resource Centre. Our weed management programs now cover both Central Highlands and the Derwent Valley Council areas. Finally, our conservation projects are: Miena Cider Gum recovery; and understanding feral pest densities in the Highlands (both Cats and Deer).

Agri-Best Practice Extension

Dairy Cares for the Derwent

The Dairy Cares for the Derwent Program has attracted a considerable amount of attention with several mentions in TasCountry and on ABC news. All dairy farms in the Derwent now have Fert$mart plans and new farms, under conversion, are also participating in the program.

Clean Rivers – on-ground component of Dairy Cares

The funding for Clean Rivers was a mixture of NRM South Naturally Inspired grant funding and Dairy Tasmania funding for on-ground projects. Four Dairy Cares Clean Rivers funding projects are underway or completed. These are all targeted to improve effluent management.

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Revegetation at Clearview

1000 native plants were planted and represent Stage One of the revegetation effort proposed for the site. We visited the site with the NRM South Board and it is providing a good example of our capacity to undertake revegetation projects.

We have attracted more funding from Dairy Cares for the Derwent on-ground projects for the year to come and will work with dairy farmers in the region to ensure support for changes in practice in what is a difficult time for the dairy industry.

Dairy forum

Josie ran a Dairy forum on 2nd June 2016 to support farmers with the recent downturn in dairy prices. The dairy forum was an opportunity to get-together and discuss impacts of milk price changes on the practical realities of farm management. We hosted a BBQ lunch and organised speakers including local farmers. Luke Taylor spoke about bare bones fertiliser regimes, Grant Rogers covered animal health, Phil Beattie talked about past lessons learnt, diversifying and value adding and Rachel Brown covered Business Decision frameworks.

Landcare conference

Josie gave a presentation on Dairy Cares at the Landcare Conference on the weekend of the 10-11th October 2015. Dairy Cares was a finalist for the Australian Government sustainable farm practices award, but Robbie Toll (very deservedly) won on the evening. The conference was a great opportunity to network with other people working in the NRM space and to inform others about what the committee is doing in the Derwent Catchment.

Nutrient Works Program

We have been working with Luke Taylor to develop a practice change program modelled on the Dairy Cares Fert$mart model. This program involves supporting sheep and beef producers with information workshops and farm plans and associated nutrient budgets to aid in management of fertilizer and nutrient run-off. The focus is on production and profitability gains which can be made by better understanding soil fertility. Two workshops have been held this year and four plans completed with more underway. We have also taken a local area transect of soil cores from Hamilton to Ellendale showing the diversity of soil in the region.

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North facing slopes project

We have undertaken a review of the North-facing slopes program that was run by DPIPWE during the 1990s to early 2000s. We have developed an evaluation framework based on performance indicators to determine what outcomes from the project were achieved. From this review we hope to determine the most successful way to re-introduce the program with the aims of achieving higher levels of improved grazing management, reduction of erosion and weeds and increased farm productivity on North-facing slopes across the region. Results of the survey indicate that all producers surveyed unanimously recommend fencing north facing slopes and that the program had been effective at reducing erosion and increasing pasture utilisation.

Pasture principals

We have been facilitating a Pasture Principals course which has been running over the past 4 months and will run until autumn next year covering off on implementing best practice in pasture management. There are 7 farm enterprises from the Central Highland participating and 1 from the Derwent Valley. The workshops and farm visits incorporate topics on pasture rotation length with information provided on: leaf stage grazing principals, leaf emergence rates, pasture quality, grazing intensity and duration. Other workshops cover in detail how to: determine leaf stage, measure pasture pre and post grazing, determine animal requirements, allocate feed, and develop a feed budget. The course aims to support individuals to set up a feed budget for their own enterprise and to provide practical on-farm workshops to support practice change. This project is about improving production and has an environmental benefit through improving ground cover and reducing the requirement for insecticides.

Pasture Information Hub

We have recently started new project which will develop a Pasture Information Hub for farmers across the Derwent Catchment. A project officer in conjunction with local farmers will collect data on leaf emergence rate (LER) and dry matter per hectare (DM/Ha) on irrigated and dryland pasture across representative farms in the region. DCNRMC will ensure data collection runs smoothly over a 20-month period and then provide access to the collected data through a web interface: the Pasture Information Hub.

Developing a Pasture Information Hub centered on LER and DM/ha data will increase the capacity of farmers to implement best practice rotational grazing systems across the Catchment. This project is a practical extension to recently run ‘Pasture Principles and Management’ courses in the region which provides on farm workshops to support practice change. One of the gaps, identified by the group discussions, was relevant data on LER and DM/ha, particularly as the region comprises many different landscapes and micro-climates. The Pasture Information Hub project will address this gap and is about providing support through data to improve

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production. There is a direct environmental benefit by ensuring optimal ground cover, protecting against soil erosion and encouraging better soil health. This project will also support farmers to use pasture resources efficiently, decreasing the requirement for insecticides which in turn reduces chemical run-off to adjacent waterways.

As part of encouraging a best practice farm management model, The Pasture Information Hub will host information on Fert$mart planning, which provides detailed soil testing across paddocks and can significantly reduce fertilizer requirements and run-off.

Engaging Small Producers

We have recognized that, to date, we haven’t engaged with Small producers. Recently, Josie attended a Derwent Valley small producer tour organized by Sprout as part of their annual conference. Sprout is an organization that support small producers and a sustainable ethic. Josie gave a presentation on the DCNRMC and what we are doing in the region. This generated a bit of interest especially in trying to get a small farm planning course. We aim to run a small farming course in the coming year.

Weed Management Program

CHC Weeds Program

There has been a program of weed works across the Central Highlands. The Derwent Catchment group has facilitated a coordinated program between Parks, Hydro, State Growth, Forestry Tas, TasNetworks, DPIPWE, Tasmanian Land Conservancy, Norkse Skog, NRM South and Central Highlands Council. This involved preparing a report of all works of the past season and proposed works for the new season; holding a general meeting of stakeholders and working out where priorities and collaboration can occur. This year an additional program of works was kicked off in the area impacted by Poatina Fire.

Poatina Program

Thanks to the efforts of two hard working teams of two, the Poatina ragwort control program works have been completed. The teams, guided by the very accurate helicopter mapping of ragwort infestations undertaken in February 2015, worked for 4 weeks covering an 11,000 ha area. Despite the difficult terrain these crews managed to remove all the plants found before they had a chance to seed. As the ragwort project was under way there was also weed control occurring at Elisabeth and Cramps Bay. While this has been a collaborative project involving Hydro Tasmania, Parks and Wildlife Service, TasNetworks and The Department of State Growth, we would like to acknowledge the substantial financial contribution of Hydro Tasmania and Parks and Wildlife Service which enabled this important project.

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The Naturally Inspired Grant ‘Adopt-a-shore’ at Great Lake

Ragwort is also a problem at Great Lake. NRM South, through their Naturally Inspired grants, supported a program to work with the local community and recreational users of the Great Lake. A series of working bees, media articles, phone calls and door knocking was undertaken over Spring and Summer. Unfortunately, this wasn’t as successful as hoped due to the very low lake levels. The region was largely deserted and didn’t see the usual shack owner influx as the boat ramps were high and dry. This meant only a few people participated in the working bees. There was however some control work undertaken during the working bees. We are hoping to re-run this program, with support from Hydro, this year. Hydro also provided financial support for other control works in the area.

Central Highlands Weed Management Plan

Last financial year we completed a 5 year weed management plan for Derwent Valley Municipality and we have been working to extend this plan so that we have a catchment wide approach to weed management. We are currently developing the 5-year plan for Central Highlands. The plan will enable our partner organisations to budget for weed activities. This approach is important for long-term strategic weed management and supports lobbying activities to ensure progress is made on weeds in the region. The Central Highlands weed report will be written in conjunction with this broader Central Highlands Council Weed Management Plan. All the roads have been surveyed and the data is being compiled and the plan is taking shape. In addition, we have been collating weed data from all major Stakeholders as part of the annual report. We anticipate completing the report and plan in the next few weeks.

Derwent Valley Weeds Program

We undertook work at Granton park with support from Derwent Valley Council and Crown Land Services. We removed large amounts of boxthorn and boneseed from the cliff area at the back of the park. A mail-out was arranged for boxthorn and boneseed brochures with an accompanying letter to adjacent landholders in order to bring their attention to the issue.

A meeting was held with Jillian Jones from State Growth regarding a strategic, multi-tenured eradication program for the entrance to the Derwent Valley and the adjacent Murphy’s Flats wetlands. State Growth have recently developed a Southern Weeds Management Strategy and this area is targeted as a priority for them. We anticipate that this will be a focus for the coming weed season.

Weeds workshops

We have developed a weeds workshop, an Introduction to Best Practice Weed Management, which was delivered to both Central Highlands and Derwent Valley’s works crew. The workshop covers basic principles of weed biology and the best methods for eradicating weeds depending on the situation. The session was well received and gave participants the opportunity to see examples of the priority weeds in the Derwent Catchment. The workshop can be made available to other groups as appropriate.

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Conservation Projects

Nursery

The nursery has been significantly upgraded and is starting to look like a viable enterprise! We placed an advertisement in the Central Highlands Digest seeking a volunteer to assist us in establishing a thriving nursery that will provide native plants that are hardened to the local conditions for revegetation, community projects and farm shelter belts. This advertisement attracted Elisha Harrison. Eve has been working in the Nursery with Elisha who is taking on a major role in getting the nursery up and running. Propagation efforts have seen the establishment of a range of species. Several seedlings are now visible and will be potted up shortly. Eve will also be supervising our nursery volunteer Elisha Harrison to complete a Certificate of Horticulture through TAFE Tasmania. We have undertaken renovations to the hothouse, which has been extended to support growing seedlings for revegetation projects at a larger scale.

We had a lot of problems with power shorts that really put us behind schedule with the nursery. But John Blyth worked with Peter Hogan (electrician) to rewire the nursery to the Hamilton Resource Centre to resolve the major electrical fault which meant that our power was intermittent and disrupting irrigation.

We are using the nursery to grow Miena Cider Gum seedlings as part of an ongoing project. The Miena Cider Gum (Eucalyptus gunnii subsp. divaricata) is an iconic threatened eucalypt that is endemic to the Central Plateau, where it mostly grows on the edges of frost hollows. The Miena cider gum seeds have germinated and we have several seedlings on the go. We have recorded the number of seeds taken from each adult tree and will be able to assess seed viability. We have also had success with the revegetation species we are propagating including: Poa grass, some Juncus sp. and stringy barks.

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Miena cider gum

DCNRMC is taking a coordination role: working with researchers, the aboriginal community, and relevant

landholder to follow-up actions for the Miena Cider Gum recovery plan. These actions include: seed collection

and propagation, caging of seedling/saplings for protection from browsing, and supporting research projects.

Field day Eve attended a field trip to St Patricks Plains to meet with the Ellis’ and assess the condition of the caged Miena Cider Gum at the site. Magali Wright from NRM South and Oberon Carter from the Threatened Species Section (DPIPWE) were also in attendance. The caged seedlings are doing really well. Some require an increase in room and floppy tops installed to keep possums out - a working bee in conjunction with NRM South and the Threatened Plants Tasmania (TPT) group has been scheduled for early next year.

Seed collecting Eve collected cider gum seeds at Skittle Ball Hill (Randal Trethewie) with Magali Wright from NRM South and Andre Sculthorpe from the Tasmanian Aboriginal Corporation. The general health of the population is declining however there was some successful recruitment. Browsing by animals appears to be the main limiting factor for the population.

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Camera trapping project

We have been working to establish a partnership with the University of Tasmania to build understanding of feral pest numbers and their impact on the Central Highlands. This project has two focus species: cats and deer. The cat project is a student project, supported by DCNRMC, to set up a camera traps transect, which will be used to build an understanding of cat density. If successful, we will also participate in a bigger research grant on deer numbers and impacts of browsing.

Clyde River survey

We have undertaken a comprehensive literature review of the Clyde River focusing on river health, function and condition. Surveys have been undertaken and a river restoration consultant, John Tilley who lives in the region, has been engaged to support the planning process. The development of a restoration plan will be the beginning of a larger goal to implement projects that improve the condition of the Clyde River from Bothwell to Hamilton.

Platypus walk

We have been successful in attracting a grant to undertake restoration of the platypus walk on the Clyde River which will include selected clearing of willows for 2km and other riverbank restoration works.

General business Budget submissions and extra funding attracted Budget submissions were prepared and presented to the investors additional funding for facilitation in the next financial year was pledged by each investor. Which will allow us to deliver on what is a full year of activities for 2016-17.

Premier’s visit The Premier and staff visited the Hamilton Resource Centre on the 5th November 2015 as part of a Landcare initiative. Several local landowners and community members came to the event and Josie gave a presentation about the work of the Committee and its supporters. After lunch, a small group visited David Jones’ dairy farm to discuss the Dairy Cares for the Derwent Program. The event was successful and the Premier was interested in the programs the Committee is running across the Catchment. Although subsequent follow up with request for financial support were unsuccessful.

Bushfest We had a stall at Bushfest in November 2015 to promote NRM activities in the Central Highlands. In addition, the stall provided native plants and information on weed management. We held a raffle which was very successful and raised $450 for the Committee, thanks very much to those who contributed prizes.

Falls of Clyde

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Drought workshop To support the agricultural community in difficult times we decide to run a forum on drought management. It rained! We ran a workshop with Andrew Bailey from TIA on managing from drought conditions to winter with information on supplementary feeding and pasture management.

Floods Eve has been following up with some affected landholders and Josie has been working with NRM South to ensure that we are part of any State Government process which will support landholders affected by the floods. At this point, the focus of the grants is to clean up woody debris. I have also recommended that river bank stabilisation be given support. The grant process is in its earliest phase but please direct any landholder you know who would like support to talk to us. Eve has continued to work with affected landholders in the region, filing on-site assessment forms for the Conservation Volunteers Australia (CVA) team so they can roll out assistance with revegetation and clean up to those who require it. We are still waiting for Government grants to be rolled out.

Green army We have had the green army out and about in the region supporting projects at Tynwald Park, Molesworth and Bothwell. Eve also worked with Green Army and DVC to undertake revegetation at Fitzgerald Park in New Norfolk which was supported by the Inland Fisheries Service. Weeding work and further revegetation was undertaken at Tynwald Park.

Website We have reworked the website into a more comprehensive information tool. We have also added a Facebook page and a twitter account to be ensure involvement in all available social media opportunities. Trish (our volunteer) has been keeping the website up-to-date and is currently adding information about weeds in the Derwent Catchment and the basic control methods for each species.

Grant applications Tasmanian Community Grants Fund – Rejuvenating Hamilton’s Platypus Walk – a revegetation and river restoration project - $32,000 – Successful.

Pasture Information Hub - $32,500 – Successful. Eve has begun work on the Pasture Information Hub, meeting Jason Lynch from Macquarie Franklin to discuss project design. This project will begin in early September.

Yours Sincerely,

Josie Kelman, Facilitator, Derwent Catchment NRM Committee 0427 044 700

Eve Lazarus, Projects Officer, Derwent Catchment NRM Committee 0429 170 048